9/11 Responders Slam Obama On Health Bill Silence

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NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Some 9/11 first responders were criticizing President Obama for getting involved in the Ground Zero mosque controversy but not pushing for passage of the $7 billion Zadroga health bill, CBS 2’s Magee Hickey reports.

John Feal, who was injured working on the pile after September 11, reportedly wrote to the president “It is disturbing that you have the time and energy to speak in favor of the mosque, but not on the health crisis caused by the attacks.”

As the Muslim faithful gathered in Harlem last night in honor of the month of Ramadan, some said they welcomed Governor Patterson’s efforts to find a middle ground, to meet the developers of the controversial Muslim community center and Mosque near Ground Zero to see if there is the possibility that state land could be provided as an alternate site for the center.

“I would go to the table and I’d listen. They surely would have to offer me something in the vacinity that saves me money and is going to expedite our project more quickly,” said Zead Ramadan, Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Other Muslim community leaders said they’re not interested. “I think it’s very unfair to try to ask that of the developers. They have a constitutional right just like everybody else,” said(Dalia Mahmoud of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of N.Y.

Congressman Peter King said it’s a good idea for the governor to get involved. He told CBS 2 on the phone that “if the leaders of the mosque take up the governor on his proposal, it would show that their intention is to bring people together, to build bridges and not just to make a political statement to have a mosque near Ground Zero.”